This will add fuel to the fire for data center opponents. Google leveled a Finnish forest for a new data center – before environmental impact assessments were complete.

As reported by Silicon UK (Police Open Criminal Probe After Google Leveled Finnish Forest For Data Centre, written by Matthew Broersma and available here), Finnish police have opened a criminal investigation into Google’s clear-cutting of land for a data center project near the town of Muhos, in the northern part of the country, which represented a possible violation of environmental law, in an incident that has spurred public debate about the many such projects planned for the Nordic country.

Google subsidiary Tuike Finland cleared and drained 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest at the planned site before legally required environmental impact assessments had been completed, police said.

“Based on preliminary information, there have been ambiguities and shortcomings in the drainage and water management at the construction site of Tuike Finland Oy’s data centre project,” police stated, adding that the probe was likely to continue into next year.

On 6 October Finland’s Supervisory Agency (SVV), which oversees environmental permits and assessments, ordered Google to halt preparatory measures at the Muhos site and another in Otanmäki, about 100km to the south-east, saying the required environmental assessments hadn’t been completed before clear-cutting began.

Campaigners estimate 250,000 trees have been cut at Muhos and 150,000 at Otanmäki.

Google’s Finland country manager, Antti Järvinen, apologized for the forest clearings, claiming Google acted according to the best understanding it had of the legislation at the time.

I can’t help but wonder how long it took to cut down all those trees. Surely someone could have stopped it sooner, right?

The company’s investment of at least €13 billion (£10.8bn) into AI infrastructure in Finland was hailed by Finland’s prime minister at the time as providing “lasting benefits” to the country.

But the clear-cutting incident has raised questions for residents over the potential negative impacts of the use of natural resources and power – controversies that have already fueled a major backlash against data centers in other countries.

This incident certainly won’t help. It feels like our world is being overrun by warehouses and data centers. Maybe this is how AI can lead to “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity” referenced in the Anthropic IPO filing last week?

So, what do you think? Given that Google leveled a Finnish forest for a new data center, do we need to slow down on data center construction around the world? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Image created using ChatGPT, using the term “robot lumberjack cutting down trees in the forest”.

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